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Fear grips my throat.
My thoughts race. What should I do? I can't overpower a man of his size, and he's right that I'm pregnant. Anything I do could end up hurting the baby.
"I'm not a threat to you or your family," I say, trying to be sincere. "Why can't you accept that Alexander and I are just trying to make a life together?"
"And what exactly do you bring to the table?" he snaps. "Ottilie is heir to a fortune worth billions. She has good genes. Do you think I went through the trouble of having the most beautiful woman in Europe bear my children, of building the Empire, for it all to eventually end up in the hands ofyouroffspring? I don't want your cursed blood anywhere near my family tree."
Cursed.
He just called me cursed.
I grit my teeth as my anger flares.
I don't even have the words to express what I'm feeling. His admission mostly just makes me feel weary. I shouldn't have to prove to this man that I'm worthy of Alexander's love. More than that, there's nothing I can say that will change his mind. My heart shatters in my chest.
"You will never be welcome here," Griffin continues, dousing my wounds with salt. "Alexander might claim he loves you, but he isn't going to give up everything he's spent his life working for just to end up with you." There's a sinister smile on his face.
My stomach churns.
"That's not true," I shoot back. But then, I don't want Alexander to have to choose between his life's aspirations and me.
Because he'll always choose me.
But I'll never be happy knowing I'm the one who robbed him of his dreams. He's too driven for that. I saw with my own eyes what Griffin did to him because he resisted him the first time.
I have no doubt that Alexander will continue to tell him no.
And Griffin won't stop until he's broken Alexander—even if it means killing him. I clutch my stomach, thinking of our baby. What will I tell them if Alexander dies because of this? That I couldn't protect their father so they'll have to grow up without one? That I was too selfish to make the best decision for them?
This is bigger than just Alexander and I now.
"What do you want?"
Griffin’s smile turns more cheerful on cue, like a sociopath.
"I want you to disappear," he begins. "Out of his life completely. Don't contact him at all. Not even when you have that fucking baby. Not even if you're dying." My grip on the railing is so tight my palms start to burn. "I'll give you £15,000,000 to help get you set up. If you take it, I won’t hurt you or your bastard child. I can have it wired to you tonight."
Fifteen million pounds.
It's not enough to live the same kind of life I live now, but it's more than enough for a single mother to survive with her child if she lives a modest lifestyle. It could last the baby and I both our lifetimes.
I could buy a small cottage somewhere and raise our baby the way I wish I was raised. We could watch the birds in the morning and take walks in the forest after lunch. It wouldn't be exactly what I imagined, but maybe it would be the best decision given the cards we've been dealt.
I would miss Alexander dearly, but at least I know he would still be alive. I'm sure he would come looking for us eventually. Maybe after this old geezer has given up the ghost. At least then, we would be free to be together.
It could work.
TWENTY-EIGHT
ALEXANDER
Ottilie hastears streaming down her face.
All the color's drained from Jeffrey's face like he's seen a ghost.
In truth, he probably has. I don't make a game of describing how I'll kill people to their face. I would much rather just kill them if I need to. But neither of them seemed to be getting the message.
"My father may have promised you something." My words are little more than a whisper, but this slice of the ballroom has fallen quiet. The people around us are doing a bad job of acting uninterested in our conversation. "But it's never going to happen. And if you keep forcing my hand, there's nobody in Europe who will be able to save you from my wrath."
